Honeybees |See What The Buzzzzzzzz Is About…

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Virginia Wright

A new Facebook cover that talented Author Rhonda Patton did for me… I love it. Thank you, Rhonda!

HONEYBEES ARE AMAZING CREATURES, for they are insects that provide us with golden sweet food known as honey. Learn the basics about honeybees, where and how they live. This is an educational, non-fiction book, for all ages. Teachers can use Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do as a honeybee primer in the classroom– it is easy to understand and answers the questions:Do all honeybees sting?
What do they do with pollen?
How do they make honey?
What is pollination?
Does all honey look and taste alike?
What can we do to benefit the bees?
What kind of flowers do honeybees prefer? virginiawright

http://www.amazon.com/Buzzzzzzzz-What-Honeybees-Virginia-Wright-ebook/dp/B004EYUD9G/

Tourist Attractions In Alabama: Coon Dog Cemetery

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Virginia Wright

Recently, while traveling, I looked up tourist attractions to visit in Red Bay, Alabama. On the Internet I read about a cemetery for dogs, that was somewhat of a tourist attraction around these parts. Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Cemetery in Northwest Alabama is worth the trip if you are passing through. I have never been to a dog cemetery before, nor have I ever owned a coon dog. However, I have owned dogs that were extremely dear to me. What they say about a dog being man’s best friend is so true. For many, losing a dog is like losing a family member. It is touching to see this cemetery and the tribute to such loved and dedicated hunting dogs. The first dog to have been laid to rest in this cemetery established by Key Underwood is his special friend and coon dog, Troop, on September 4, 1937, after more than fifteen years of hunting together. The coon dog cemetery is the only one of its kind in the world, and only coon dogs can be buried there.

The spot that this faithful dog was buried was once a hunting camp that coon hunters from all over the area gathered. Underwood marked the grave with a rock that he hand chiseled out Troop’s name, and the date, using only a hammer and a screwdriver.

Other hunters began burying their coon dogs in the same cemetery where Troop was laid to rest. There are in excess of 185 coon dogs now, from all across the United States buried in the “Key Underwood Coon Dog Cemetery.” That I could tell, the last coon dog laid to rest in the cemetery, was in 2015.

As I began walking around the cemetery, initially, my first impression was reminiscent of a “traditional cemetery” with engraved headstones. But the further I surveyed this special cemetery, I found nontraditional grave markers such as wooden slats with the name gouged or burned into the wood, some of the grave markers were rocks that had names etched in the stone with a hand chisel, others were homemade concrete blocks where fingers in the once wet concrete wrote the inscription of their beloved dog.

Some of the graves in the coon dog cemetery have dog memorabilia on the burial sites, for example, one has a stainless steel dog dish, another has a dog collar, and more than one has a dog leash draped across the gravestone. I looked at all the graves as I walked around and noted the names of a few that were inscribed on the stones, including Easy Going Sam, Bean Blossom Bommer, Old Roy, Buck Shot, Squeak and OL Lou. The headstones are etched with heartfelt messages such as “Ashes of 3, Good Coon Hounds, Friend, and If he Treed in a mailbox you’d better open it and look because he’s got em.”

In addition to grave markers and memorabilia, flowers adorning the graves were everywhere as far as the eye could see. Knowing how much these coon dogs meant to their owners was truly touching, and was evident in the sentiments etched in the gravestones. If you are in this area, stop by and visit such a special cemetery, and don’t forget to sign the guestbook. I did!

-Virginia Wright

For the qualifications of burial in this one of a kind cemetery, contact The Friends of the Coon Dog Cemetery, Inc.

Contact: (256) 412-5970 and ask for Janice Williams.

Website: http://www.coondogcemetery.com

Address: 4945 Coondog Cemetery Road, Cherokee, Alabama 35616

Directions: Find the Coon Dog Cemetery 7 miles west of Tuscumbia on U.S. Hwy 72. Turn left on Alabama Hwy 247, and travel approximately 12 miles. Then turn right, and follow the signs.

Admission: FREE

Hours: Open daylight hours year-round

What is a coon dog?

A coon dog is any dog trained to hunt raccoons.

Six breeds of U.K.C. Registered Coonhounds

Black and Tan Coonhound, Bluetick Coonhound, English Coonhound, Plott Coonhound, Redbone Coonhound, and Treeing Walker Coonhound.

INTERVIEW WITH JOE COSENTINO author of PORCELAIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery, published by Wild Rose Press

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Virginia Wright

Welcome back to the blog, Joe.

I’m thrilled to be back. I love your blog. And my grandnieces loved your mouse books!

Aw! Thank you. Last time you told us about your acting career, including starring with Holland Taylor in the ABC-TV movie, My Mother Was Never a Kid, and working with other stars like Bruce Willis, Nathan Lane, Rosie O’Donnell, Charles Keating, and Jason Robards. You also discussed PAPER DOLL, the first Jana Lane mystery. Why did you write the second novel?

As a child I loved child stars like Shirley Temple, Hayley Mills, and Patty Duke, seeing their movies over and over. So I created a heroine who was the biggest child star ever until she was attacked on the studio lot at eighteen years old. In PAPER DOLL the secret behind that attack is exposed. The reviews were raves. Here are a few of the quotes:

“Paper Doll is a superbly crafted mystery with an eclectic cast of characters that will engage you and elicit some very emotional responses as you are completely caught up in the events that unfold in these pages. Everyone has secrets and the people in Paper Doll have them in spades!” Fresh Fiction

“Joe Cosentino knows how to keep his readers’ interest with every page.” Universal Creativity Digital Magazine

“Mr. Cosentino has produced a masterpiece of mystery” “The story gripped me from the start and there were enough twists and turns, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, to keep hold of me until the end of the book.” “Great book, can’t wait for book 2.” Readers’ Favorite

So I wrote another Jana Lane mystery. In PORCELAIN DOLL (The Wild Rose Press), it is 1982 and Jana is thirty-nine years old, living in a mansion in Hyde Park, New York. Jana makes a comeback film and uncovers who is being murdered on the set and why. Her heart is set aflutter by her incredibly gorgeous co-star, America’s heartthrob Jason Apollo. The other suspects include Jana’s James Dean type young co-star, her older John Wayne type co-star, her children’s Eve Harrington type nanny, the film’s gossipy makeup and hair artist, a local reverend trying to stop the film’s production, and Jason’s agent.

Did you use your background as an actor to write PORCELAIN DOLL?

Definitely! As one reviewer of PAPER DOLL wrote, I used my knowledge of show business to devilish ends. Actually, I used my background in each of the Jana Lane novels, since I know the ins and outs on a movie set. Thankfully nobody was murdered on my sets.

Who is your favorite character in PORCELAIN DOLL? And why?

Jana’s agent, Simon, is my favorite character for five reasons. He is amazingly resilient, old world Hollywood, incredibly funny, loyal to Jana, and most importantly, I want to play him in the movie version!

Which character was the most fun to write?

Jana’s James Dean type young co-star is a sexy rebel without a cause.

Is it difficult writing a series?

It’s like visiting with old friends. I love Jana and all the characters. I do need to keep a notebook with copious details on the characters and environments—especially every room in Jana’s mansion.

How have the reviews been for PORCELAIN DOLL?

Amazing. Here are two examples:

“Porcelain Doll is Joe Cosentino at his finest. We are drawn back to the fashions and attitudes of the 1980’s in a character-driven story full of intrigue and passion.” Kirsty Vizard, Divine Magazine

“Beautifully written and intensely detailed, Porcelain Doll is one not to be missed. Flirtatiously decadent with a strong moral undertone, set in a decade of extraordinary social change this is a story of its period that is as poignant today as it was then. Joe Cosentino controlled the emotions that the book encouraged with a deft but delicate touch. Suspenseful and mysterious, Porcelain Doll is a masterful creation, one that was impossible not to be affected by.” Carol Fenton, BooksLaidBare Reviews

Why did you set the books in the 1980’s?

I love the music, hair styles, clothing, and decadence of that era. I had great fun writing about Jana’s mansion, wardrobe, makeup, and hairstyles. I was also able to incorporate some of the music, films, television shows, Broadway shows, and political and social events of the era.

Will more Jana Lane mystery novels follow?

Yes, in SATIN DOLL (not yet released from The Wild Rose Press), Jana and family head to Washington, DC, where Jana plays a US senator in a new film, and becomes embroiled in a murder and corruption at the senate chamber. She also embarks on a romance with Chris Bruno, the ex-professional football player detective. In CHINA DOLL (not yet released from The Wild Rose Press), Jana heads to New York City to star in a Broadway play, enchanted by her gorgeous co-star Peter Stevens, and faced with murder on stage and off. I am currently writing RAGDOLL, where Jana stars in a murder mystery TV series and again life imitates art. Through the course of the books, Jana not only solves the mysteries, but also reclaims the courage and fortitude she had as a child. This is an important message for all of us. As one reviewer wrote, she starts out as a wounded bird, and ends as tiger.

Do you have another mystery series besides the Jana Lane mysteries?

Yes, the Nicky and Noah comedy mysteries published by Lethe Press. Each novel is loaded with wacky humor and romance in a fast-paced whodunit. Since I am a college theatre professor/department head, and theatre departments are havens of mystery, secrets, romance, and high humor; the series takes place at an Edwardian style New England college. In DRAMA QUEEN (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015 winner for Best Mystery, Best Humor, Best Crime, Best Contemporary) theatre college professors are dropping like stage curtains. With the inept local detectives, it is up to Directing professor, Nicky Abbondanza to use his theatre skills (including playing other people) to solve the murders, while he directs a murder mystery onstage. Complicating matters is Nicky’s intense crush on Assistant Professor of Acting, handsome Noah Oliver, the prime suspect in the murder (whose tenure application was not supported by the first victim). In DRAMA MUSCLE Nicky and Noah have to use their theatre skills to find out why musclemen are dropping like weights in the Physical Education department while Nicky directs the Student Bodybuilding Competition. In DRAMA CRUISE (not released yet), Nicky and Noah go on a cruise to Alaska, and discover why college theatre professors are going overboard like lifeboats while Nicky directs a murder mystery dinner theatre show onboard ship.

As a college professor/department head, how do you have the time to write?

I write at night after my spouse has gone to bed. I have a beautiful cherry wood study with a fireplace, huge desk, bookcases, and window seat. My mother asked me, “Don’t you have anything better to do than write at night?” I wonder if Stephen King’s mother asked him that? Hah.

How can your readers contact you?

I love hearing from readers. They can contact me at http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.

Excerpt

1982.

Jana Lane, America’s most famous ex-child star, ran on the grounds of her estate. The forty-year-old kept up a quick pace as someone, or something, followed closely in the woods just out of sight. Her heart pounded, and sweat dropped down her neck, arms, and legs. As she turned to avoid falling into the lake, Jana raced past a large oak tree. A hand reached out from a branch. Jana screamed.

Waking with a gasp, Jana rested her head on her silver satin pillow, and took in some deep breaths. Then, she sat up in bed and tried to shake away the nightmare.

Keep it together, girl. Don’t go off the deep end like before.

Thinking that music might help, she flipped on the radio, perched on her white and gold French provincial night table.

As Diana Ross crooned “Mirror Mirror,” Jana rose then stood in front of her floor-length oval mirror. Staring back between the white and gold molding was a forty-year-old woman with porcelain skin, sky-blue eyes, a button nose, deep dimples, ruby red lips, and velvety strawberry-blonde hair. (Yet all Jana could focus on were her newly acquired crow’s feet, laugh lines, frown lines, and three gray hairs. After giving birth to three children, the figure underneath her pink satin nightgown was still shapely and petite, but Jana only noticed the tiny belly and unwelcome stirrings of cellulite.) Moving to the red satin canopy bed with its gold circular headboard, Jana slipped on her silver satin robe and fluffy pink slippers. Feeling a man’s strong hands around her, she screamed.

PORCELAIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery

by Joe Cosentino

published by The Wild Rose Press

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6684

Porcelaincover

Is art imitating life in 1982? Jana Lane, ex-child star, is doing a comeback film about murder. When a crew member is killed on the set, it looks like Jana could be next. Thickening the plot is Jana’s breathtakingly handsome and muscular leading man, Jason Apollo, whose boyish, southern charms have aroused Jana’s interest on screen and off. Will Jana and Jason stop the murderer before the final reel, or end up on the cutting room floor in this fast-paced whodunit with a shocking ending?

BUY LINKS:

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6684myBook.to/PorcelainDoll

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/porcelain-doll-joe-Cosentino/1123368757?ean=2940157711948

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-porcelaindoll-1979755-367.html

Praise for PORCELAIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery:

Praises for PAPER DOLL, the first Jana Lane mystery:

“If you like novels that are filled with new and old Hollywood, and a range of sub-plots, you are going to love this!” Saguaro Moon Reviews

“I liked that there was enough evidence for each of the suspects to keep me guessing until the very end.” Molly Lolly Reviews

“Joe Cosentino knows how to keep his readers’ interest with every page.” Universal Creativity Digital Magazine

“The setting, the characterization and the plot keep you turning the pages.” The Book Mistress

“Joe Cosentino has crafted an engaging tale of secrets, lies and deceit set in that crazy, ego driven scene called Hollywood.” Deb Sanders

ASIN: B01BA2705Y

Released: March 16, 2016

Pages: 260

Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor

Paperback: 978-1-5092-0603-2

Digital: 978-1-5092-0604-9

Heat Level: Sensual, PG-13

Amazon Bestselling author Joe Cosentino wrote Paper Doll the first Jana Lane mystery (Whiskey Creek Press), Porcelain Doll the second Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), Drama Queen the first Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Drama Muscle the second Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), An Infatuation & A Shooting Star & A Home for the Holidays & The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press), Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (NineStar Press), and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Eldridge Plays and Musicals). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. His one-act plays, Infatuation and Neighbor, were performed in New York City. He wrote The Perils of Pauline educational film (Prentice Hall Publishers). Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. His upcoming novels are Satin Doll the third Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), China Doll the fourth Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), Drama Cruise the third Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), and Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward (NineStar Press). Joe was voted 2^nd Place for Best MM Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015.

Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino

Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino

More about Virginia Wright go to Amazon.com

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World Read Aloud Day February 24, 2016

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Virginia Wright

In honor of World Read Aloud Day, I thought I would share a photo of my grandmother reading The Night Before Christmas to me. From a young girl, I wanted to be a writer. But, I never imagined back then, one day that I would grow up and write my own Christmas book. Goosies!

Reading is extremely important, not only for pleasure but for developing skills needed in everyday life. When reading aloud, you can put so much expression in the voice as the story unfolds. Children love being read to and when they can read, they love reading to others.

In 1998, while I was teaching at St. John’s Preschool and Kindergarten in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, I implemented a reading program in my class that I penned, Book-A-Day. This would help promote children’s reading literacy in my classroom and to get young children interested in reading every day. I found that young children had much more interest in story time when it was made part of a daily schedule. Instead of my students just bringing in a book on Show & Tell Day, every day of the school week, children took turns bringing in a book. It was an easy plan to establish… because I simply asked the child who had the turn to bring in the snack of the day– to also bring in a book. I found that the interest was two-fold in story time, and while teaching for three years at St. John’s, I kept the Book-A-Day program in place, in my classroom. Book-A-Day is a reading literacy awareness effort that I hope to make every preschool and kindergarten class aware of.
Now go read!
–Virginia

VIRGINIA WRIGHT is the author of Timothy the Christmas Mouse and the companion book, Timothy the Christmas Mouse Coloring Book For Children.

http://www.amazon.com/author/virginiawright

Our Day of Passing Anthology | FREE eBook by 30 Authors | Short Stories, Poems, and Essays

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Virginia Wright

FREE! FREE! FREE! eBook, February 19th – February 23rd, 2016

I’m especially excited as two of my poems are in this Anthology: Picture Memories and Life, Love, Inevitably Death.

Scroll down and read about Our Day of Passing and then click on the link for your free eBook. Enjoy! -Virginia Wright

Our Day of Passing: An Anthology of Short Stories, Poems, and Essays

With this project, Ingrid asks, Do you have a macabre fascination with death and the afterlife?

If so, then this anthology is definitely for you. While some see the subject of death as too morbid to contemplate, others such as the skilled writers that have contributed to this anthology, view it as the perfect subject to stimulate creative thinking. Much like ‘love’ and ‘war’, the topic of death has the ability to draw out some of the most thought-provoking pieces ever to fill a blank sheet of paper.

Our Day of Passing is formed from an eclectic and diverse mix of short stories, poems, fictions and essays. Contributions have been assembled from over 30 talented writers across the globe, each with their own fascinating interpretation of an event that comes to us all…eventually.

Written by Ingrid Hall, Franco Esposito, Dennis Higgins, Virginia Wright, Candida Spillard, Valeri Beers, Dada Vedaprajinananda, Strider Marcus Jones, Adam E. Morrison, Allyson Lima, D. B. Mauldin, David A. Slater, David King, Dee Thompson, Donald Illich, Edward Meiman, Eileen Hugo, Emily Olson, Joan McNerney, J.S. Little, Kin Asdi, Madison Meadows, Malobi Sinha, Marianne Szlyk, Mark Aspa, Mark David McClure, Megan Caito, Michael Brookes, Michael Burke, Pijush Kanti Deb, Prince Adewale Oreshade, Rafeeq O. McGiveron, Robin Reiss, Sasha Kasoff, Stephanie Buosi, Talia Haven

Whether they resonate with your own circumstances or provide new wisdom or something to ponder over, each of these carefully selected pieces will undoubtedly unlock a series of emotions within you. The anthology has been written in such a way that it can either be devoured or dipped in and out of as your emotions dictate. Either way, you can expect to feel a greater sense of self and enlightenment from reading it.

FREE eBook Click Here | More About Ingrid Hall

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Pennies From Across the Veil by Dennis Higgins, one of the authors of Our Day of Passing says, “My own fascination with the subject has led me to write an entire story about it, based on true events.”

Reviews:

Pennies From Across The Veil By Dennis Higgins is a uniquely written love story. It is being told by the main character, who is telling the story in what seems to be a dark place (you will have to read the story to understand this). The characters are well created, and at times they have me smiling, at other times, they give me goosebumps. Throughout the whole story, I found my eyes welling up over several touching moments. Pennies From Across The Veil has it all– I can see this story being turned into an on-screen movie and out in theaters. I definitely recommend this read. In my opinion, this is Dennis Higgins best book to date! -Virginia Wright

I thoroughly enjoyed Pennies From Across the Veil. Intriguing, a bit mysterious, and definitely heartfelt, the characters felt “real.” The innovative way the story is told (from where I cannot reveal, because that is much of the mystery here!) is very unique and kept me reading. I read the whole book while traveling – waiting in line to board the plane(s), in flight, and waiting for my baggage at the end of a long day. Most especially I loved the touches of physical manifestation of a spirit’s love. The pennies…so cool! You have to read this book to know what I’m talking about – but don’t think you can guess the ending, it’s a very cool twist. I received a complimentary copy of this book to read/review, but that in no way influenced my rating or comments. Thank you, Mr. Higgins! -Aaron P. Lazar

More about Virginia Wright Click Here

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author – Illustrator

The Official Website of Virginia Wright, Author – Illustrator. Designer. Non-fiction Writer. Children's Fiction, Romance & Cookbook Author. Nature Photographer.